The Crowley Utility Special Review Committee on Sept. 26 approved a recommendation to raise sewer user fees, proposing an in‑town base rate of $24 with $7.50 per 1,000 gallons over a 2,000‑gallon minimum and an out‑of‑town base rate of $30 with $10 per 1,000 gallons.

The committee recommended the change after staff calculations showed the utility fund needs targeted revenue of about $3.79 million — using a 1.15 "sustainability" factor — to cover operations, maintenance, equipment replacement and debt service. The committee tested 13 rate scenarios and recommended the sixth scenario, which staff said would generate roughly $3.82 million in revenue after adjustments for likely collection rates.

City attorney said the committee and the council have a mandatory duty under the city ordinance to review and adopt rates. "This is a mandatory duty of this committee and a mandatory duty of, the council to adopt an appropriate rate based on this study," the city attorney said.

Why it matters: city staff told the committee the recommendation is intended to keep the sewer system financially self‑sustaining and to improve the city’s ability to pursue grants and loans for a series of treatment‑plant and collection‑system projects required by a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) compliance order. Those projects include plant upgrades, collection‑system repairs and reactor work to meet new discharge limits.

How the committee reached the recommendation

City staff combined prior‑year revenues, LawCo billing and collection data, and the utility fund budget to model outcomes under different rate structures. Staff said LawCo’s billing records show a gap between what is billed and what is actually collected; the committee applied a 95% collection adjustment when projecting net revenue.

Christy Dunn (staff member) explained the trial runs and recommended scenario: "the committee recommended that we go with number 6, which is $24 base rate in town with 7.5 consumption on each thousand gallons over 2,000. Dollars 30 base rate for out of town with a $10 consumption rate, which would generate the 3,820,000.00 in revenue." She said that estimate is roughly $20,000 above the target annual expense figure calculated for the coming year.

DEQ compliance, capital plan and funding constraints

Staff and the committee also discussed a DEQ compliance order that requires the city to address repeated overflows in the collection system and treatment‑plant discharge quality. Tim (staff member) summarized the permit change that drives part of the work: the prior ammonia‑nitrogen limit the city had been operating under was about 5 parts per million; "the new permit changes that to 0.8 parts per million," he said. Staff described a phased program of plant and collection improvements with costs spread across multiple projects and funding sources.

Staff identified several funding paths: grant programs (including a Louisiana CDBG application for an ammonia reactor upgrade that staff said totals about $2.85 million), use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies for initial work, pay‑as‑you‑go from fund balance, or loans that require demonstrated capacity to repay principal and interest. Staff said phase 1 work (Duckweed Pond improvements) is using about $800,000 in ARPA and city funds; a phase described as excavation of the east marsh was listed at roughly $2.13 million; the ammonia reactor upgrade was listed at roughly $2.8 million; additional phases carried multi‑million dollar price tags and funding sources were not yet determined.

Staff emphasized the timelines involved and noted the city must show progress to DEQ on a quarterly basis. "All this occurred at the same time the city was in the process of renewing its discharge permit," Tim said, and staff warned that the total program is likely multi‑year and could range over several million dollars.

Other fiscal context discussed

Staff described how the committee calculated expenses and revenue targets: estimated total expenses for the system were presented at about $3.29 million before applying a 1.15 sustainability factor, which produced the $3.79 million target. Staff walked the committee through LawCo account‑level usage and how billed amounts translate into expected collections.

A member of the committee noted the role of ad valorem (property) tax revenue in covering debt service. One speaker said projected ad valorem tax revenue for the utility fund was $348,000 next year while the projected debt service expense was about $446,000, leaving a shortfall of roughly $100,000 that the utility fund must otherwise cover.

Committee action and next steps

Councilwoman Sandra Marks moved to approve the committee’s recommended rate adjustment; Councilwoman Dickey Lachele seconded. The motion carried on a voice/roll‑call vote at the committee meeting. Under the city ordinance that established the user‑fee review process, the committee’s certification now moves to the mayor and board of aldermen for formal action on the rates.

Details and limits of authority

Staff and the city attorney reminded the committee that the review and certification task is mandatory under the existing ordinance (first enacted in 1988, as staff said) and that the committee’s role is to certify a recommended rate to the mayor and board. Staff also noted that major capital work will likely require grant matches or financing and that the city cannot finalize many projects until funding sources and loan capacity are secured.

What was not decided or remains uncertain

The committee approved the recommended rates but did not finalize specific funding sources for the multi‑phase DEQ work beyond the ARPA dollars already committed to phase 1 and the LCDBG preapplication for the ammonia upgrade. Staff said the scope, exact cost and DEQ’s final acceptance of phased work remain dependent on future engineering, permitting and weather‑dependent overflow performance.

The committee meeting adjourned after the motion carried.